A REVIEW OF LEISURE STUDIES: A FOCUS ON RESEARCH METHODS

Objective: The objective is to verify the stage of research on Leisure considering the research strategies, sources, data collection and analysis. Methodology / approach: The methodology adopted is divided in two that are intertwined. First, a systematic review of the literature on the Leisure phenomenon was carried out to answer the question: What research methods have been used to investigate Leisure in academic studies? Next, the Systematic Meta-Method is used as a research methodology to identify the most used methods. Originality/relevance: A specific analysis on methodological procedures in Leisure research was not found in the literature. In addition, there is little standardization in research methods, data collection and analysis techniques, indicating great theoretical potential, or great scope for discovering new concepts and theories about Leisure. Main results: The main results indicate that Leisure as a research object is in its early stages of maturity due to the lack of standardization in methods, data collection and analysis techniques, indicating great potential for standardization of methods and, therefore, proposition of theories. Theoretical/methodological contributions: The methodological contribution is the use of systematic meta-methods to identify methodological procedures. There is low methodological standardization of qualitative research. The area also relies on theories from multiple areas such as Sociology and Psychology, among others.